FOCUS!
After an exhausting trip to Africa to teach and be with the Torah group here, I have returned from the African bush. This is one of my encounters. I’l be here in Africa for another two weeks teaching and visiting great friends.
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The Invention of the Individual
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Genesis 27:19a NASB I am – Some time ago (September 28, 2018) I wrote about the shift in the idea of “individual.” I noted that ancient, non-industrial cultures exhibit group consciousness rather than discrete, individual consciousness. I cited works by Gabor…
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The Letter kaf
Behold, I am with you Genesis 28:15a NASB I – hinneh ʾānōkî (“Behold, I”) says YHVH to Jacob in the famous dream of Genesis 28. Here the text uses ʾānōkî rather than the shorter form, ʾānî. But since ʾānōkî and ʾānî are both translated “I,” we would have a hard time distinguishing the two. Sometimes they are used interchangeably. But sometimes they…
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Illegitimate
Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; Genesis 44:27 NASB My wife– Sometimes we just read over critical details in the text because we know the stories so well. As a result, we don’t experience the emotional impact in the text. We end up with the Sunday school version—theologically…
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An Added Wrinkle
This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 Peter 3:1 NASB Sincere mind– How often have you heard someone say, “Well, at least he’s sincere.” Or maybe, “What he lacks in understanding he makes up for in sincerity.” In our common…
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Biblical Visual
Reading, studying, meditating, exploring God’s words is something like this: Do you see my shoe on the way down? Want to follow me into the depths? The Hebrew idea of time. A journey into the interior. Might make you dizzy but it will be worth it. TRAVEL MOTEL I am presently in the bush in…
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Definitively Mistaken
Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.Psalm 26:2 NASB Examine– I don’t have to tell you that life is complicated. If you think it isn’t, then you are probably less than twenty-five. I also don’t have to remind you that life is messy. We plan; God laughs. So say the sages. And…
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Tamar Comes First
For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?” Genesis 44:34 NASB See the evil– When you read the story of Joseph, there appears to be a detour in the plot. We recently investigated this detour, noting that…
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The Alien
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 NASB Man– He was never born. He had no mother, no father. He didn’t come from a family. He had no cultural DNA. He had no country, no ethnicity, no expectations. He knew no…
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The Seducing God
He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?” Genesis 15:8 NASB How may I know– God comes to you. You didn’t ask Him to come. He just shows up. He asks you to do something; something pretty startling. “Leave this place, the place of your family and friends, of safety, culture and expectations. …
